2007 Comic Con Updates

  1 day over... 3 to go.

Generally speaking, a day at Comic Con in San Diego is unlike any other day you will ever experience. And now, as the crowds increase, and the mass of humanity begins moving in one flowing tide, a new element has been added to the fun.

In the past you might end up standing to someone else for 5 min, tops, and by in the past I don't mean just last year, but in more recent years, lines have gotten longer, and you can end up standing in line for as much as an hour, as I did today, next to fellow fans of something you are a devotee of, or in some cases, and even more interestingly, next to obsessive fans of something you are only just beginning to get curious about.

Gone are the days in which you could simply wander into ANY panel that caught your fancy, now a bit of planning is required, and the bigger the room / draw, the more likely you are to stand in line. But that is where some of the most interesting, and approachable, people can be found.

I had an enjoyable conversation for several minutes at the end of the Zorro panel today with the guy behind me, who was curious just how long I've been a Zorro fan, and how I got into it.

On the way into the Demons of Mercy panel (the way in meaning standing for an hour in line as the Torchwood panel was STUFFED to capacity, which, as a side product, meant I didn't get to attend it) I found myself talking with a wonderful lady who was, as it happens, a first year attendee of Comic Con. We'd both been drawn to the panel by the hollywood talent that had been brought into the project, and I for one was VERY impressed by EVERYONE on that panel.

Amber Benson may not be the "big name" Jeri Ryan is, but she is not only intelligent and well spoken, but a very good and expressive listener, making her a lot of fun to watch for reactions when other panelists are speaking.

Christopher Judge for his part was, as always, Christopher Judge, going so far as to say he asked all four of his kids if he should sign on to do a voice in this computer game.

But back to the line to get in... I found myself trying to think of what advice, what tips, what "secrets" could I, as someone who has been coming to Comic Con for over 15 years, share.

It was a harder question than I anticipated.

I could explain how the lines work (frequently these days you are lined up against some wall vaguely near the booth you hope to end up at... and tickets are given out to kind of control the influx of people to the booth) and let her know what types of surprises and promotional items various booths have had in the past, but it is so hard to explain to someone how to survive this 4.5 day experience, especially when there are so many different techniques.

I was not at all surprised to hear about a 3 day pass, as at the end of last year several friends said they were unlikely to go to Con on Saturday as it has become so much of a zoo. For myself... I'll probably, hopefully, spend Saturday sitting in panels. I've walked the floor about as much as my feet can handle... and while there are a few novels I'm hoping a few publishers may want to part with... I'm also aware the car can only hold so much for the drive home.

I think my best advice at this point, to anyone coming to San Diego Comic Con, is to come with a positive attitude towards meeting fellow fans / attendees. They can be some truly fun people to talk about, you are bound to run into a fellow fan of that which you saw as the biggest draw to the con, and you can make new friends, as opposed to being isolationist, locked up in yourself utterly determined to blaze a trail to your next destination.
~posted by Kay